Fall 2023
Dear friends of the Center,
As we embark on this fresh academic year, I want to welcome you back to the fall semester!
After an exciting summer traveling in Greece with our study abroad Odyssey program, we are all recharged and energized for the year ahead.
The Center offers 6 courses this fall, all open to the community through the Extension program. Due to many requests, all levels of our language and culture courses (elementary, intermediate, and advanced conversation) are now offered online for our Extension students.
This year we are thrilled to continue our lecture series and events, both in-person and online.
Our first event on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 5pm welcomes back to the Center Prof. Michelle Tusan for an in-person talk and a presentation of her new book The Last Treaty: Lausanne and the end of the First World War in the Middle East (Cambridge UP, 2023).
Professor Tusan’s talk "How the Great War Ended: Making Peace on the Middle Eastern Front, 1918-1923” will discuss the lasting legacy of the destruction of Smyrna and explore the peace process between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. It will reveal the plight of Greek, Armenian, Assyrian and other minority populations who survived nearly 10 years of uninterrupted war when peace finally came in 1923.
The event is co-hosted with the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.
Consul General Ioannis Stamatekos will offer opening remarks.
A wine reception will precede the presentation at the McIntosh Center in University Hall (UH 3900).
The event is free and open to the public but seating is limited.
Free parking in UH, Level 1.
Please, register here
We are excited to co-host with the Hellenic Library of Southern California the performance of Iakovos Kambanellis’ beloved dark comedy “The Eulogy” (Ο Επικήδειος) performed in Greek with English supertitles by Michael Dukakis on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 5 pm.
The performance is presented under the auspices of The Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.
For more information and ticket reservations, please contact Philip Trevezas.
On Saturday, Nov. 11 at 10 am and with the support of the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, the Center is planning a one-day seminar for teachers of Modern Greek language in local parishes and Greek schools in Southern California.
The seminar will be led by Dr. Eva Prionas (Stanford University), an expert in teaching pedagogies and founder of the American Association of Teachers of Modern Greek.
His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos and the Honorable Consul General Ioannis Stamatekos will offer opening remarks.
The purpose of this initiative is to provide teachers with updates in teaching methodologies, resources, assessment tools, and pedagogically sound practices.
We are grateful to Prof. George Gavalas and Mrs. Cleola Gavalas for supporting and sponsoring this initiative.
The seminar is open to anyone interested in the teaching of Modern Greek but reservations are required. Please, contact ModernGreekStudies@lmu.edu for more information.
Last but not least, we are thrilled to announce the annual Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Recognition Award that honors an outstanding member of the Greek American community in the field of the arts, science, philanthropy, public life and service.
The event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 5 pm in University Hall.
This year the Center looked within our own community to recognize Rosalind Farmans Halikis, a dedicated philanthropist and long-time supporter of the Center.
The Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Recognition Award is made possible through the generous support and commitment of Drs. Nasreen Babu-Khan and Howard Lehrhoff to Hellenic Studies and the Southern California Greek-American community. We are grateful for their support.
For more information and updates about our events, visit our calendar and events page.
In closing, the Center would like to thank the many friends who over the past few months have generously supported the Demetrios Liappas Legacy Fund honoring Demetrios’ many contributions to the university and our community.
I would like to recognize Hope and Dimitri Berk, Peter and Vivi Demopoulos, Katharine Free, George and Cleola Gavalas, Rosalind F. Halikis, James and Caroline Kolokotrones, as well as the Caloyeras family for their leadership gifts and continued support.
In the next months, we hope we can count on your support to reach our target goal of raising $1 million to seed this endowment in perpetuity. The fund will provide support for a much-needed professorship for the Caloyeras Center. This position will allow the Center to support its multidisciplinary programmatic offerings and provide our students the opportunity to expand their knowledge about Greece in a number of new academic perspectives. I hope you will consider making a gift.
Visit our website to find out more about our academic program, students, events, and our endowment campaign. I am happy to discuss the Center's plans in more detail, should you have any questions.
I am looking forward to welcoming you back to our campus!
With deep gratitude for your support.
Warm regards,
Christina Bogdanou, Ph.D.
Director